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... challenge to the vernacular - when you are up to your ass in alligators, it's tough to remember your original challenge is to drain the swamp. We were sitting on his back porch. My friend had to meet with a contractor to discuss a major addition to his home. I had time to do what I do best - not think but observe. His is a modest house sitting on a beautiful, tree filled lot. My only companion during his absence was his dog, Mollie Deux. She's a yellow Lab or maybe a Lab Lite — Lab genes in a Heinz 57 mix of blood. She certainly is well fit for his big yard. A Chihuahua would probably be snake food. Birds were singing and mosquito hawks were performing aerial acrobatics not 20 feet in front of me. ... was a peaceful and a simple life. This is why we live here and enjoy, no love, the life we have. After a morning together, we captured our best ideas over lunch and then further refined them for the next two days via e-mail. Great stuff — but would it work? . Could these best ideas from Wall Street, Wharton School of Business, and the ivory towers of academia be converted to a practical, and actionable plan to meet the challenges faced by my friend and his small little company here in the backwaters of Louisiana? If these ideas could be utilized (and I'm sure they could) would this be the best way to lead and manage into the future? The truth of his and every other organization is that a culture has been established. ...

... &# 160 Your success in business won't depend on what you know, but rather on how well you can leverage what you know to achieve the Vision: The shared goals. In this document about education, Mike Manes illustrates the importance of working with and through people for the common good. &# 160 &# 160 GETTING ‘IT' &# 160 In the movie A Beautiful Mind, John Nash learned IT — an understanding of life, living, people, and purpose — by painful experience. Nash was a mathematical genius who won a Nobel Prize for his theories. He was also a paranoid schizophrenic who was institutionalized in two different places: one an insane asylum (where none of us would want to go), the other in institutions of higher education ( ... knowledge, but lack the maturity and experience to use it. &# 160 The good news about stereotypes is that they're easy to understand. In this case, I hope the positive potential — encouraging some MBAs to rethink what they do — will outweigh the harm — some hurt feelings — which might be caused. Larry said, "I have an MBA, and when I got out of school, I was dangerous. I had all the answers but didn't know the right questions. I didn't know what I didn't know." &# 160 He added, "The good news is that Daddy didn't go bankrupt, because if he had listened to my advice he would have." &# 160 Probably the best news in our society is that most mature business people can work ...

...ess books, or seminars) but, like beauty, “lies in the eye of the behold...

... a dry spell, an award is the focus that allows you to say, I did it once and, by golly, I can do it again! ' Tonight, we honor the paths of some of us who have reached a fork in the road. There is a gleaming crystal prize for a job well done. My challenge to these exemplary people is this: Can you take this beautiful icon and lend its shining light to others? Can you help others arrive at this fork in the road and take their turn? After all, a prism that does not reflect light is just a piece of glass. Christina Ward is now conducting personal retreats around the country on personal and leadership growth. You can reach her at (512) 346-3488. Jack Burke is the president of ... head in to see why I didn't hear any activity. She was staring at the wall. I said, What's up? ' She responded, I'm staring at the last four years of your life. She was looking at the plaques, certificates, and awards I have hanging on my wall. She said, I remember how proud I was the day I came home my senior year in high school and you had surprised me by filling a whole wall with every accomplishment I had achieved in my last four years. I felt proud and fulfilled-there were some I had even forgotten about. Though I was most proud of receiving Outstanding Senior of The Year, ' I realized that all these other steps were what led me there. What we're honoring here tonight are the steps these honorees took, not ...

... : REALITY CHECK by Mike Manes Mike Manes presents a series of "episodes" that he observed in a single week while visiting his mother-in-law during a recent hospital visit. Each episode concludes with a common sense observation that defines reality and how it relates to Customer Service. Reality TV isn't real. In your daily reality, have you ever had the chance to choose a mate from dozens of "beautiful" people and win a million dollars in the process? Have you ever lived on a remote island for weeks for any reason? Did you ever feel the need to eat worms, skydive, or sit in a box filled with roaches? In today's world, this might be good TV — but it's not reality. Neither is Management 101: One of the first courses you take in ... school. The concepts presented and the processes proposed make so much sense and appear so easy that you say, "I can do this." Then you graduate and try to apply these concepts in your office, store, plant, or warehouse. More often than not, the results don't parallel what you learned. Business courses offer great theory but are often far removed from reality. Remember MBWA (Management by Wandering Around)? Maybe it's time for business owners to learn RBWA — Reality by Wandering Around. Maybe it's time to forget the perfect world of academia, and fulfill what Max DePree calls the first role of a leader: To define "reality." Maybe you need to observe what's happening (reality), apply a dose of common sense, recognize that the world ...

... " to an old "Mo Fo" who's trying to buy from your company. The essential questions in each relationship are: Who is this customer? What do they want and need? How do you profitably deliver it at a price they are willing to pay? Success in customer service does not come from on high (Harvard Business School, business books, or seminars) but, like beauty, "lies in the eye of the beholder (customer) ." Customer service is a "bottom up" activity. Part of your challenge is that customers differ, not only as a niche of one, but in their demands for individualized service. Some customers want "high touch": a relationship that they can trust, while others need "high tech": a seamless ... Also don't let a young service person talk "street talk" to an old "Mo Fo" who's trying to buy from your company. The essential questions in each relationship are: Who is this customer? What do they want and need? How do you profitably deliver it at a price they are willing to pay? Success in customer service does not come from on high (Harvard Business School, business books, or seminars) but, like beauty, "lies in the eye of the beholder (customer) ." Customer service is a "bottom up" activity. Part of your challenge is that customers differ, not only as a niche of one, but in their demands for individualized service. Some customers want "high touch": a relationship that they can trust ...